Total world sales of fabric filter systems will be $8.8 billion in 2016. Sixty-four percent of the sales will be in Asia. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in N021 World Fabric Filter and Element Market.

Fabric Filter Systems Sales ($ Millions)

Continent

2016

Total

8,831

Africa

183

America

1,958

Asia

5,490

Europe

1,210

China is playing a major role in the Asian market. It has been a fast growing and large market over the last decade. Now sales are starting to level off. The major air pollution control companies in China are devoting considerable time and effort to penetrate the markets in Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

Some of the international filter suppliers with manufacturing in China are also looking to the broader Asian market. Cement, steel and chemical companies are all major filter purchasers. The tightening regulations in Asian countries is assuring market growth.

Some of the Asian fabric filter market will be captured by process system suppliers or international filter companies who sell to the system suppliers. FLSmidth supplies complete cement plants in Asia. They also supply fabric filters and replacement bags. European based competitors are buying filter systems from European based filter companies who can provide service in Asia.

The biggest future variable is the application of fabric filters to coal-fired boilers. At present precipitators are still the choice for new Asian coal-fired power plant companies. However, the need for higher dust removal efficiency is causing some owners to remove the internals of their precipitators and replace them with bags.

One of the options to remove SO2 is to combine dry scrubbing with fabric filters. This is less expensive than the electrostatic precipitator/wet FGD alternative. There are already more than 50,000 MW of these dry scrubbing/fabric filter units operating in China.